July 24

        What a busy week this is becoming. I had planned a shopping trip to Winnipeg with our daughter-in-law, Anna, for Monday and the family gathering on Saturday. But the week had a mind of its own and Tuesday morning turned into a chat fest when two friends, Julie Hildebrand and Helen Kuhl dropped by for coffee in the morning. I had to hurry to get the column done and it will be late getting sent to the newspaper.

Blues in the Park
       Our son, Mike, and I spent the afternoon on Saturday, July 19 at the Altona park listening to music. We didn't stay to hear all the groups because they began at 11 in the morning and went till 10 at night but we enjoyed the ones we did hear. The lead singer, Richard Neufeld, of the 3rd Degree had a voice with a bit of the Louis Armstrong sound which was totally unexpected. I have known Richard for years and , in fact, he was my boss at one point but I'd never heard this side of him. The next band, The Perpetrators, was from Winnipeg and was absolutely awesome. They had a very nice bluesy sound and had everyone moving in their chairs and there was some dancing going on. I definitely will be attending again next year.

Condolences
     Dave and I would like to wish a fond farewell to John B. Wiebe of Morden. John, 85, passed away on Friday, July 11. He is survived by his wife, Marilyn and two daughters, three sons and their families. A private service was held.
     John had a very full life from being a minister, school principal at W.C. Miller, owner of Wiebe Farm Power in Plum Coulee to farming with his sons. Dave worked with John during his ownership of the farm business in Plum Coulee. My first experience with John occurred in 1969. One of his sons, Gerald, often came to our house and at one point had his vehicle in the garage and so drove up in hi dad's big Chrysler. Dave and Gerald left for the day and like usual lost all track of time. I needed milk for Mike who was just a little stinker at the time so at five minutes to 6:00 I packed up and into the that big boat.
     We drove a Volkswagen at that time so this vehicle was trice as long as ours and backing off the driveway had me very nervous. Don't you know, when I turned to get onto the street I crunched the driver's side fender on a tree beside the driveway. I was totally distraught but went to get milk and waited for the guys to get back. All John said later was that it would have been nice if he could have been the one putting the first dent into the car. I think that says it all.